Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government will allow hotels to serve liquor till 4 am from April 1 in metropolitan cities and those cities having more footfall of tourists and others travelling for business purposes.
Sanjay Bhoosreddy, Principal Secretary of State Excise Department, said that the move is aimed at enhancing the revenue of the government.
"Hotels will be given permission if they apply for it. The move will not only increase the revenue but will also put a stop to the illegal sale of liquor," Bhoosreddy said.
According to the new policy, restaurants will have to pay an additional licence fee of Rs 2.5 lakhs for time extension up to 2 am. and licence fee of Rs 5 lakhs for time extension up to 4 am.
Earlier, the hotels were allowed to serve liquor only till 12 am.
The policy will be implemented in cities like Lucknow, Meerut, Moradabad, Noida and Agra.
